Notre Dame started slowly at Wake Forest and even fell behind for the first time this season, but quarterback Ian Book led a 49-point explosion in a 30-minute stretch as the Irish coasted to a 56-27 romp over the Demon Deacons. Book secured his hold of the starting position with a 325-yard passing day, including two touchdown tosses and three rushing scores. The once sluggish Notre Dame attack racked up 556 yards with several big plays, and the defense battered Wake Forest freshman quarterback Sam Hartman, whose day ended on a TKO in the third quarter. The victory lifted the Irish to 4-0 on the season with Stanford coming to South Bend next week.

All phases of the game were clicking for the visitors. Chris Finke pitched in with a rare Notre Dame punt return to set up a second quarter score. His 52-yard scamper to the Deacon three yard line set up his team with a 21-6 advantage. Wake Forest remained competitive for a while, and answered with a touchdown march of their own before Irish freshman Michael Young ran 66 yards with a short toss from Book to the Deacon two. Book ran it in from there and Notre Dame led 28-13 at the half.

It was all Irish in the third quarter as the outmanned Deacons wilted. Book drove his team for three touchdowns and a 49-13 lead before Coach Brian Kelly cleared the bench. Meanwhile, Julian Okwara and the rest of the Notre Dame defense were relentless in their pursuit of Hartman, who was mercifully scraped off the turf and dragged to the locker room midway through the period. Book stayed in long enough to add another rushing touchdown early in the final stanza, but no more curtain calls were needed.

The Deacons ran 92 offensive plays in fast tempo, but many of their 398 yards were earned against Irish reserves. Notre Dame did an excellent job of containing slot receiver and kick return man Greg Dortch, who caught six short, inconsequential passes and brought back three kickoffs for a mere 16 yard average. Despite the heat of the day that gave rise to considerable fatigue and cramping, both teams appeared to avoid serious injuries.

Let’s review the pregame questions.

Will the Irish defense be able to create turnovers against the freshman quarterback? No, but Troy Pride picked off the second pass by his replacement.

Can either quarterback take the reins and get the Notre Dame offense into high gear? Book got the starting nod and settled in after some minor early bumps to guide the team to its best offensive showing in quite a while.

Will the Irish be able to contain Dortch in the open field? Yes, they were ready for Dortch, who had one catch for 18 yards and a few others for very little else.

Can the Deacon tackles hold up against Notre Dame’s pass rushers? Not really. Notre Dame brought pressure from all angles, and the speed of Okwara and company was tough for them to handle.

Which team will create a more productive running game? Both teams ran the ball successfully, although the Deacons padded their stats against second and third teamers.

Can the Irish special teams win the battle of field position? Yes, the offense started in good field position the entire day, and Finke’s return was a true highlight.

Who will be Notre Dame’s quarterback at the end of the day? There is no controversy here at all. The day belonged to Ian Book, and the job is clearly his based on a really fine performance that lifted this offense out of the doldrums.

The Irish don’t get a break in the schedule for a while, and the next two foes will pose significant challenges. Fortunately, the team appears to have new found balance and confidence to remain successful.